- Opp leader says govt insulting opposition members’ mandate by allocating development funds to people defeated in elections
- Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends session for 20 minutes, leaves without addressing Opp’s grievances
Opposition members in the Punjab Assembly on Thursday accused the provincial government led by Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif of neglecting them in the allocation of development funds for their constituencies.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was present in the House for 20 minutes but he did not respond to the opposition’s charge.
Addressing the 21st session of Punjab Assembly on Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition Mian Mahmoodur Rasheed said, “We are not begging as it is our right that funds must be transferred to us because we are the members of this House.”
Rasheed said that the government is allocating funds to those who were defeated in the elections. “It is an insult of our mandate that funds are being allocated to those who were defeated by us,” he added.
“The CM does not have the courage to listen to the grievances of the opposition as he left the House just after delivering his speech last time,” the opposition leader said.
He was of the view that the government must construct bridges and roads but after ensuring the basic necessities of education and health.
According to Rasheed, 10 million children do not go to school while MRI and CT scan machines in Mayo Hospital are out of order.
Meanwhile, the CM left the House during the speech of the opposition leader as lawmakers from the ruling party started approaching him in droves to hand over their applications.
The session started after a delay of one hour under the chair of Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan. The speaker gave his ruling and ordered to initiate an enquiry against the officials of Services and General Administration Department (S&GAD) as the department did not respond to six questions asked by the lawmakers. He ordered S&GAD Parliamentary Secretary Ali Asghar Manda to submit his report in the next sitting.
Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the opposition parties incited the farmers to continue their sit-in at chairing cross. He added that the opposition parties did not try to convey us the demands of farmers at least once, as they were only politicising the matter by giving rhetoric speeches after joining farmers.
“The CM discussed the problems of farmers with them for three hours and resolved their problems”, he said.
According to the minister, the government is going to announce an agricultural policy in the future. The agricultural revolution would be inevitable after this policy, he said. He urged the opposition to take a positive part in the legislative affairs and to shun the destructive attitude.
The session was adjourned till 10am today (Thursday).
